Screw-driver attachment.



PATENTED MAR. 5, 1907 No. M5978,

F. D. RAPPBLES. SCREW DRIVER ATTACHMENT,

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 7, 1906,

A zii/ORME V5 FRANCIS DELOS RAPPELEE, OF GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN.

SCREW-naiven ATTACHMENT..

Specication of Letters Patent.

ratenteu 'ii'arcn `5, 1907.

- Mannion hermanita 7,1906. aannemer/7.

To rtZ/ whom t may concern.-

Be it known thu` I, FRANCIS DELos RAP- PELEE, a citizen c dhe United. States, residing at'Green Bay, in the county of Brown and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Screw-Driver Attachment, of

which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to screw-drivers of that type having spring-jaws for holding a screwl in operative-relation with the blade `for the purpose of placing or taking out a screw iu regions where the operator is unable to reach with both hands and 1n countersunk Lholes, depressions, or the like linto which the fingers cannot be inserted for the purpose of taking hold of the screw.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character so as to be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, thorouglizlyy reliable and etlicient inuse, and capable of being readily' adjusted to or detached from a screw.

Afurther object of the invention is the provision of a pair of screw-holding jaws which are slceved'to the blade `of the screw-driver and actedl onby a spring for causing the jaws to.4 hold the screw 1n engagement with lthe end of the blade, the tips of the jaws being so shaped that they can be readily engaged over a screw that is partly drawn out, so that the screw will not drop when completely re.- moved. j

With these objects vin View and others, as will appear as the Anature `of the invention is better understood, the invention comprises tliewarious novel features of construction and larrangemont ol parts, which will be more hilly described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, kwhich illustrates one of the embodiments of the invention, Figure l. is a front levation of a screwdriver, partly broken away'ainl showing the saine in the operation of inserting or with- V Fig. 2. is a perspective view of the screw-driver blade, drawn on an enlargedscale, the tang end thereofY being broken away. Fig. 3 is apcrspective view of the spring-jaws and. the blade-encircling sleeve. Fig. 4' is .a perspective view of one of the spring-jaws. j j metal blank from which the blade-embracing sleeve is formed.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the Corresponding parts in the several iigures j are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

Referring t'o the drawing, 1 designates the blade of the screw-driver, which is of ordinary construction, except that adjacent the middle of the blade a longitudinal slot 2 is provided having lat end walls 3. j The blade in the present instance is of the tang type and is provided-With `a handle 4; but itis to be understood that thescrew-holding attachment ycan be used on screw-driver blades intended for braces. In the slot A2 is arranged a helicalcompression-spring 5, which abuts at one end'the upper end wall 3 el the slot. The lower end of` the spring bears on the cross-piece 6 of the sleeve 7, to which the spring screw-holding jaws 8 are attached. The sleeve 7 encircles the blade lat the slot 2, so as to form a housing cr keeper for the spring, se that the latter is 'permanently held in the blade. The jaws 8, which. are leafsprings of suitable metal, are long enough to normally project beyond the point-9- of the blade 1, so that they can grip the shank of the screw while the point 9 is seated inthe slot of the screw-head, as shown in Fig. 1. The jaws 8 are normally under a tension, which operatesfto hold them in contact, so as to firmly retain the screw. The ends of the metal strips of which the jaws are made are vbent inwardly in the shape of a bow, as indicated at 10, the extremities of thebowed portions being compressed in contact at 11 with the body portions of the jaws. These bowed pcrtions'form the gripping-faces of the jaws, and they are each provided with elliptical openings 12 for receiving the shank cf the screw. The opposed gripping-faces' diverge outwardly, so as to constitute a mouth for 'facilitating the insertion of a screw. The sleeve 7 and jaws Smay, if desired, be made in one piece.. In the present instance they have been shownv as separatel parts, such as punchings. The blank 13, Fig. 5, from which the sleeve 7 'is termed, comprises two plate portions 14 of rectangular-shape and connected bythe neck l5, which constitutes the cross-piece 6 in the finished sleeve. In forming the sleeve theblrnk 13 is inserted into the slot 2 of the screw-driver blade by holding the blank in .such a way that its width u ill be longitudinal of the slot. The blank is then moved inwardly until the neck l 15 is at the slot 2 and then the blank is turned a quarter oi a revolution on its longij made, when desired, as are within the scope tudinal axis. The plates 14 are then bent upwardly on opposite sides of the blades, so as to form a U-shaped structure. The long edges ol' the plates are then bent toward each other and the edges soldered. The sleeve thus vformed is a rectangular box-like structure open at its top end and having the crosspiece 6 at its lower end extending transversely through the slot 2. Before the forming. of the sleeve is finished the spring is inserted.

The jaws 8 are cut from strip metal ol' suitable dimensions, and their upper ends .are soldered or otherwise suitably secured to the sides of the sleeve.

To insert a screw into the jaws, the gripping ends ot the latter are spread slightly apart by resting the head of the screw against the portions 1() and applying a longitudinal pressure on the screw and screwedriver in a direction toward each other, so that the shank of the screw can be placed between the jaws and engaged in the openings 12 ot-the grippingfaces. The screw is then adjusted so that the point 9 ol" the blade willenter the slot otl thiscrew. The screw is thus firmly held on the blade and can be inserted in a countersunk. opening, depression, or the li-ke or at any other desired point where the hand of the operator cannot reach. As the screw is driven in the tips oli the jaws S will come into contact with the object and the jaws and sleeve will be gradually moved upwardly on the blade against the tension ot the spring 5. This upward movement o'f't'he jaws will continue as the screw is driven in until the'point t) protrudes beyond the tips ot the jaws, thereby enabling the screw to be driven home without the j aws interfering. To take out a screw, the screw-driver is placed so that the i jaws come in contact with the object holding the screw and then pressure is applied to the handle, so that the blade 2 will be protruded between the jaws and engaged in the slot ot the screw. The screw is then turned to draw it out, and as the screw moves outwardly the jaws 8 advance by virtue of the tension of the spring 5 and simultaneously spread apart until 'finally they pass over the head of the 'screw and grip the shank thereof. The screw can then be completely withdrawn while the jaws are firmly holding the saine.

l I have described the principle otl operation of the invention, together with the apparatus which l now consider to be the best embodiment tlicreol'; but I desire to ave it understood that the apparatus shown is merely i illustrative and that various changes maybe of the claims.

What is claimed is I 1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a blade having a longitudinal slot, a helical.compression-spring therein, a sleeve movable on the blade and arranged to form a housing for the spring, a cross-piece 2. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a blade having a longitudinal slot, a helical compression-spring therein, a sleeve on the blade forming a housing for the spring, a cross-piece attached to the sleeve and extending through the slot at one end of the spring,l a pair ot parallel members connected with the sleeve and extending beyond the point of the blade, andscrew-holding means cn the ends of said members.

In a device of the class described, the combination of a blade, a pair of jaws, and means for inovably mounting the jaws on the blade, each jaw comprising a strip ot spring metal convexedly bent inwardly and backwardly at its end to form a grippingpmeans.

4. In a device ot the class described, the

1; lable thereon, and elastic means for normally holding the jaws extended beyond the point of the blade, the said jaws comprising strips of spring metal having their ends bent back- 9 wardly and curved toward each other to form gripping-laces for holding a screw.

5. In a device of the-classdescribed, the

combination ot a blade, a sleeve-thereon, a

spring in the'sleeve for yieldingly holding the latter in position on the blade,'and a pair of jaws attached to the sleeve, said jaws comprising strips of spring metal having a tension'l normally holding the jaws together, the outer ends of the sirips being bowed and li ent backwardly and provided with openings at the middle of the bowed portions for grippingr the shank ot' the screw.

[n testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence ol' two witnesses FRANCIS DELOS RAPPELEE.

Witnesses:

HARVEY R. BARNA'RD, EnwARn J. NEWSCHWANDE.

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